SELECTION OF CRITERIA AND APPROPRIATE DIS CRIMINATION VALUE IN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE DYSMORPHIC URINARY ERYTHROCYTES

Dysmorphism of urinary red blood cells is increasingly used in the eva luation of glomerular hematuria. The present study was conducted with the aim to select criteria and appropriate discrimination value of dys morphic urinary erythrocytes to aid the clinical management in nephrol ogical practice. In 184 patients with both glomerular und nonglomerula r hematuria of various etiology the percentage of only five different types of dysmorphic urinary erythrocytes (simple ring forms, acantocyt es, codocytes, knizocytes and stomatocytes) was determined by phase-co ntrast microscopy. Using the cut-off point of 15% as discrimination va lue, optimal diagnostic sensivity (94%) and diagnostic specificity (85 %) were reached. In 90% of cases, the microscopic classification of he maturia as glomerular or nonglomerular was in agreement with the diagn osis, based on the commonly used clinical, histological, instrumental and other laboratory procedures.